By Mike Anderson

Inside Finals – Under-19 Crew Juniors (OH-S) v FC Delco Hammerheads (PA-E) (Game stats)

It was an electric setting for the Under-19 Boys national championship game as almost 3,500 fans showed up to watch the 75^th anniversary of the James P. McGuire Cup, aired live in HD on Fox Soccer Channel. Thunderstorms rolled through Overland Park, Kan. before the match, but cleared up just in time for the game as the Columbus Crew Juniors (OH-S) edged the FC Delco Hammerheads (E-PA) 1-0.

In a tightly contested match in which neither team was willing to give away scoring opportunities, Tyler Pollock (Butler) scored the lone goal in the 36^th minute to provide the difference, making the Crew the first Major League Soccer youth academy team to win a US Youth Soccer National Championship.

"I'm more excited than I think I've ever been. This is awesome. I can't really believe it right now," Pollock said after the game. "I really noticed the cameras when we were warming up and tried not to look at them, but once the game started it was all business and we were ready to go so they kind of disappeared. We knew what we had to do, and we were up for it. We knew we were going to be there and have a chance to win it, so I'm just super happy how it happened. We knew it could happen but once it did it was just great. The atmosphere was fantastic. It was on TV and we had a nice cheering section out there cheering us on, so the whole thing was just super exciting. I couldn't have asked for more."

It was an exciting and fast paced game as the storms brought cooler temperatures and a little moisture to the field, but scoring chances were hard to come by as there were more corner kicks (11) than shots on goal (6). FC Delco, desperate to win their first national title in their fourth trip to the national stage, controlled the tempo for the first 45 minutes before Crew turned things in their favor in the second half.

"I thought they were going to play a different game today than what we saw the day before. They came out gunning for us and they were good. They were good in the first half, and I told my guys we bent in the first half but we didn't break.  They were making us chase, and they were stringing some good stuff together. We defended well and we were good enough to get a goal and hold on," said Crew technical director Brian Bliss. "It was a big time feel. Not every day do you get to play in front of a TV audience on a national stage. Anybody that is a soccer person was tuned into that game. I had probably 45 text messages by the time the final whistle blew and some were from people I haven't heard from in years. It was big time seeing the cameras, the hype and the interviewing - it was a big stage for our boys."

The first chance to get on the board came in the 12^th minute with a long FC Delco throw into the box. The ball skipped through the area to the far post, just out of reach for the sliding Matthew Sanner (Princeton).

Six minutes later Chris Harmon (Old Dominion) received a ball 20 yards from goal and ripped a shot just wide of the target.

Both teams were stringing nice passing combinations together to work up and down the field, but FC Delco continued to press the Crew and get into more dangerous positions as the first half wore on. In the 23^rd, Sanner collected a long punt from Delco keeper Robert Rosato (UNC Wilmington) and dropped the ball back to Travis Cantrell (Penn). Cantrell played a one touch pass to Kyle Soroka (Villanova) making his way in from the left, and Soroka then slipped a onetime ball behind the defense for Sanner. Sanner looked to be in on goal but Crew defender Matt Wiet (UCLA) made a great recovering slide tackle to extinguish the threat.

The Crew didn't see their first quality chance to score until the 36^th minute when they took the lead. Chad Barson (Akron) served a free kick into the center of the penalty area from 40 yards out, and Pollock out-jumped a crowd in the box to head the ball over Rosato, who had come off his line to contest the cross. The goal for Pollock was his third of the championships, tying him with Westside Metros' (OR) Erik Hurtado (Santa Clara) for the lead.

The Crew came out of the halftime break with the lead determined to lock down the defensive end, but the story of the game for FC Delco was shots that weren't even taken.

Six minutes after the restart, Sean Peckman (Lafayette) ran down the left flank and served a low cross into the box behind the Crew defense that was just out of reach for the sliding Wayne Maminski (Lafayette). A minute later, Peckman had the ball again, but this time the cross sailed over the box as they couldn't seem to test Crew keeper Justin Luthy (Boston College).

The Crew defense, led by Wiet, Barson, Anthony Arena (Wake Forest) and Luke Helmuth (Messiah) put the FC Delco attack on hold until the 83^rd minute when the best chance of the game was squandered.

Harmon, a constant menace for opposing defenses all week, led the FC Delco attack down the left side and crossed into the box where a crowd was waiting. The ball popped out at the far post 12 yards from goal and Alec Weiss (Villanova) was open for a clear shot but didn't make good contact as Luthy easily collected.

With the game winding down in stoppage time it looked as if FC Delco might finally find the shot they were looking for as Soroka ran down the right and hit a low cross behind the Crew defense to the far post. Harmon was streaking in but his lunging dive couldn't connect as the ball skipped by, ending FC Delco's hopes at a national title.

The final whistle sounded, sending the Crew players into celebration with the McGuire Cup held high as the team accomplished the goal set since coming together last spring.

"I feel great for the guys. I feel great for our club as well because we put a lot of time into this, but the boys put a lot of commitment into it, and they were good. I think they deserved what they got today. I'm happy for them and obviously the club," said Bliss. "I'd hate to single out one guy, but I think our whole back line and Brandon Silva (Bowling Green) in the middle of midfield, those five guys were under a lot of pressure. Whether it was restarts or having to win balls in the back or just defending 20, 30 or 40 yards in front of our own goal, they just make it difficult for the other team. When we put the team together we said the strength of our team lies in the back line and our goalkeeping, and we knew we'd have to find different way to score goals. We found different ways throughout the tournament to get it done, but our back line was the MVP."

With the win, the Crew became the first MLS youth academy team to win a US Youth Soccer National Championship. When the Crew began their youth program, assembling and developing teams and players to play at the highest level was the main focus.

"We try to emulate what the first (MLS) team is doing in terms of the training mentality, the facilities and what we can bring, resource-wise, with quality coaching to what we are trying to accomplish. And that's not just with the U-19's, that's with the whole club down to the U-12's. Anything in our system, we're putting together a good compilation of players and coaches, trying to move players along and give them those opportunities. We're putting resources against it, and now we're starting to see it pay off," said Bliss.

"That's why we're doing this. It's a starting tool for myself and the first team. It's an opportunity to develop players, and at the same time, there's no doubt in my mind that in this group there are players who will get there through this system. It's just a matter of time. We know there are players in the MLS now that grew up in Ohio that are good players in the MLS, and some of these kids are better than those players were at the same age. So we know there are professionals in our group; it's just a matter of when we get them there."

It's a fitting end to the 75^th anniversary of the McGuire Cup, named after a man who helped introduce and grow the game of soccer in the U.S., to be won for the first time by an MLS youth academy as the sport continues to reach new levels in this country.

Columbus Crew Juniors
Goalkeeper: Justin Luthy (Boston College)
Defenders: Chad Barson (Akron), Luke Helmuth (Messiah), Anthony Arena (Wake Forest), Matt Wiet (UCLA)
Midfielders: Brian McGue (Davidson), Brandon Silva (Bowling Green), Ryan Lee (Ohio State), Eric Stevenson (Akron)
Forwards: Andrew Lubahn (Wake Forest), Tyler Pollock (Butler)
Substitutes: Eric Erb (Case Western Reserve), Joseph Haught (Rhode Island), Paul Hendricks (Ohio Wesleyan), Kyle Hyland (IUPUI), Nick Millington (Wake Forest), Peter Paras (Davidson), Tanner Petrick (Xavier), Brian Rogers (Harvard), Ben Speas (Akron), Zarek Valentin (Akron), John Wargo (Cleveland St.)

FC Delco Hammerheads
Goalkeeper: Robert Rosato (UNC Wilmington)
Defenders: Thomas Kalpokas (LaSalle), Brian Forgue (Penn St.), Alex Ockford (Mt. St. Marys), Greg Cochrane (Virginia Tech)
Midfielders: Kyle Soroka (Villanova), Jordan LaBlanc (Old Dominion), Sean Peckman (Lafayette), Travis Cantrell (Penn)
Forwards: Chris Harmon (Old Dominion), Matthew Sanner (Princeton)
Substitutes: Micah Collins (Penn St.), Daniel DiLullo (James Madison), David Dubow (Princeton), Wayne Maminski (Lafayette), George McFarland (Colgate), Jordan Obrant (Syracuse), Jeffery Pio (LaSalle), Alec Weiss (Villanova), Mike Whitaker (Pittsburgh)